Illuminated around 1500 by the artist
Jean Poyer, The Hours of Henry VIII
receives its name from the possible but
unproven eighteenth-century tradition
that holds King Henry of England once
owned this splendid manuscript. By
following the simple instructions, you
can explore every painting of this
Renaissance masterpiece and learn
how Books of Hours helped their readers
to pray.
Books of Hours contain more or less
standard texts—Calendar, Gospel
Lessons, Hours of the Virgin, Hours
of the Cross, Hours of the Holy Spirit,
Penitential Psalms with Litany, Office
of the Dead, and Suffrages—as well as
a number of common accessory
prayers. Based on the frequency and
variety of added devotions, it appears
that scribes included these for owners
who wished to personalize their prayer
books.
Trinity: Trinity
Border: Angels (fol. 171)
The Christian conception of a triune
God, each part equal and
indistinguishable, is the subject of
this miniature. (The same corruption
can be seen in Poyer's Prayer Book
of Anne de Bretagne, M.50, fol. 1.)
The Three Persons of God,
seated on a golden rainbow
within an aureole surrounded
by clouds, are physically and
hierarchically identical: they
each appear as a young Christ
holding an orb. It is tempting to
identify the central blessing
figure as God the Father,
flanked by Christ at his right
hand (as in the Apostles' and
Nicene Creeds) and the Holy
Spirit at his left.
Three Persons of God
The Athanasian Creed (sometimes called the "Quicunque vult" from its opening words in Latin), which specifically emphasizes the equality of the Three Persons of the Trinity, is included as the last text in the Hours of Henry VIII (fols. 196–99v).
Trinity Sunday, the feast day dedicated to the Trinity, was not originally celebrated in the early Christian Church. Although it was observed regionally in the tenth century, it was not universally accepted until 1334, when Pope John XXII (r. 1316–34) ordered it to be generally observed. (Feast day: the first Sunday after Pentecost, or the eighth Sunday after Easter)
Nine Orders of Angels
The nine celestial angels
kneeling in adoration and prayer
below may recall nine orders
of angels, a hierarchy codified
in the fifth century.
The ranks of the nine orders of angels were codified in the fifth century in De Hierarchia Celesti, a work that was attributed to Kionysius the Areopagite, the convert St. Paul. The choirs were grouped hierarchically:
1. Seraphim, Cherubim, Theones
2. Dominations, Virtues, Powers
3. Princedoms, Archangels, Angels
The first group perpetually adored God, while the second group made the stars and elements. The princedoms protected earthly kingdoms, and the last two were messengers.
